


Moon and Stars

by bpd_changeling



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Sorry Not Sorry, here have some angst, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-05 00:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12179715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bpd_changeling/pseuds/bpd_changeling
Summary: Remus had always hated the moon. That is, until someone helped him not to.





	Moon and Stars

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know why I torture myself like this, but this fic demanded to be wrote, so here we are. I'm truly sorry (and you're welcome).

     Remus Lupin had always hated the moon. He'd hated it since his first transformation, so many years ago. That was what he thought about, sitting on the front steps of the Burrow that Christmas, looking up at the night sky. It might have seemed strange for someone so at odds with the moon to spend so much time gazing upward after the sun went down, but Remus knew exactly why.

  
     It had been a slightly chilly night in their fourth year at Hogwarts. It was only a couple days after the full moon, and though he wished for nothing more than to be fast asleep, Remus had found himself being dragged upstairs by a very insistent Sirius Black.  
"I don't understand why we're doing this," Remus whispered from beneath James's invisibility cloak (which Sirius had borrowed without permission for this trip).  
"Because it's important," was the reply. They reached the top step of the Astronomy tower and stepped out toward the ledge, dropping the cloak as they did.  
"What is?"  
"The moon," Sirius answered. Remus frowned, confused and a little apprehensive. "You hate the moon," Sirius went on when there was no response, "because of what it does to you, how it controls you. Don't try to argue; I've seen you looking at it, I've seen the disgust in your eyes. And hey, I get it. It's a valid reason."  
"Then why are we here?" Sirius sat down before answering. Resigned to let this play out, Remus sat as well.  
"Because it's not good for you. Hating the moon doesn't hurt the thing at all, it only hurts you. Re, look. Just look at it for a minute and try to see it- not as a werewolf, just as a person."

  
     Remus did what he asked. He tried not to wince as his eyes found the orb overhead. So soon after the full moon, it was still almost a perfect circle. His insides squirmed, but he tried to refocus. The moon was... pretty, he guessed. It glowed with a cool, soft light. It was serene, in a way, when you thought about it. But he was only able to consider this for a moment before he remembered just what he was looking at and had to turn away. Sirius put a reassuring hand on his arm.  
"I won't make you stay, Moony, if you don't want to. I just hoped that maybe it would help. I, um..." He looked a little uncertain here, as if his next words were a shameful secret. "I used to climb to the roof of my house at night to watch the moon. It felt like she was protecting me, you know, from my family. It was the only time I ever felt safe, like someone was looking out for me, and I guess I wanted you to have something like that."

  
     Remus stared at his companion. After several seconds with no response, Sirius coughed awkwardly.  
"I guess it was a stupid idea, sorry," he said, starting to withdraw his hand.  
"No!" Remus exclaimed, surprising himself as much as Sirius when he grabbed the boy's hand. "No," he repeated, softer. "It's just... that's honestly the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me." Sirius smiled hesitantly, and Remus felt warmth blossom in his chest. He looked at the boy beside him, and then up at the sky, and then back. In that moment, he decided: He would probably always hate the moon... but he was definitely starting to fall in love with the stars.

  
     It had been over two decades since that night, and Remus had spent countless hours watching the stars, but everything was different now. The stars only held a tiny fraction of the comfort they'd once given him. The sky, though physically unchanged, seemed emptier. The moon seemed bigger than ever. And Remus knew, without a shadow of doubt, the reason why. It was because Sirius, his brightest star, the one who had taught him love in the first place, was gone. He was dead, and the protection of the stars had died with him. So under the cold gaze of a now-unfeeling sky, Remus put his head in his hands and cried.


End file.
